Streaking Diamondbacks down Dodgers for 12th consecutive win

Chris Herrmann #10 is safe at home on a fielders choice RBI by Brandon Drury #27 of the Arizona Diamondbacks as Yasmani Grandal #9 of the Los Angeles Dodgers can't handle a throw home during the tenth inning of a game at Dodger Stadium on September 5, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.(Photo: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES – Hours before first pitch on Monday, Archie Bradley finished his early running on the field while several other teammates were still doing theirs. On his way into the clubhouse, he walked past the training room, where every table had a player on it. Two other teammates were working with physioballs, another was stretching on the ground.

Then Bradley passed the weight room. Every exercise bike, elliptical machine and treadmill was in use. There were players bench-pressing, others squatting, still more doing pull-ups.

“I came in here,” Bradley recalled a day later, after the Diamondbacks’ latest win in a stretch filled with them, “and there were two guys in the locker room.

“We’re not in here goofing around. Guys get what we’re doing and everyone wants to be a part of it. I think that’s what you’ve seen where every night it’s a different guy, whether it’s a walk, a hit, a strikeout, whatever it is. No one cares who it is. We just want to win.”

And win they have. With their 3-1 victory on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, the Diamondbacks extended their win streak to a franchise-record-tying 12 in a row. They pitched well. They made big plays defensively. They got a little lucky. They seem incapable of doing wrong.

“When things are going well, this stuff happens,” center fielder A.J. Pollock said. “Good ballclubs know how to win games. You take ‘em because a couple of weeks ago we were having games like this where things weren’t falling. It’s a funny game.”

In the 10th inning, third baseman Justin Turner’s throw to the plate glanced off the shoulder of baserunner Chris Herrmann and deflected away from catcher Yasmani Grandal. Two runs scored. The Diamondbacks had another lead, this one for good, and they had another victory against the Dodgers, whom they’ve beaten for five of their 12 wins during the streak.

But it’s not just the winning – it’s the way they’ve been winning. The win streak started on Aug. 24 in the finale of a four-game series at Citi Field. The next day, they fell behind the Giants 1-0 in the second inning. They scored four runs in the third inning. They haven’t trailed since.

After Tuesday’s win, they’ve gone 98 consecutive innings without trailing, tying them for the third-longest stretch in baseball history behind only the 2002 Oakland Athletics (102 innings) and the 1942 New York Yankees (101).

“That’s a lot more amazing to me than the winning streak,” right-hander Zack Greinke said. “I didn’t even know that was possible.”

No one would have thought it were possible for the Diamondbacks, at least not two weeks ago when they were on the back end of a stretch in which they went just 15-26. During that funk, they had trouble scoring runs and went through stretches in which their rotation, their bullpen and even their manager seemed to go in slumps.

“To come out of the baseball that we were playing,” Bradley said, “and to go into this stretch, I think it sets up what we’re going to do this September. And it’s going to be really fun to watch us play.”

Their lead on a wild-card spot has become so large it almost isn’t worth mentioning; they’re up nine games with 23 to play. They’re essentially a lock to both win a wild card and host the one-game playoff on Oct. 4 at Chase Field. The only other time the Diamondbacks have won 12 in a row was in June 2003.

Greinke gave up just one run in seven innings, the only blemish a solo homer by Grandal in the top of the fifth. In the ninth, the Diamondbacks capitalized on an overly aggressive play by Chris Taylor, who tried to tag from first on a fly ball to Pollock, whose one-hop throw nailed him at second.

Then in the 10th, the Diamondbacks drew consecutive walks off the sometimes-erratic Pedro Baez, advanced on J.D. Martinez’s broken-bat grounder and scored when Turner’s throw kicked away. If the throw doesn’t glance off Herrmann, the Dodgers likely would have gotten an out at the plate.

“It was a grinding type of a win,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “We expected to win the game. That’s the mode that we’re in. That’s what we’ve done all year long.”

The Dodgers, meanwhile, are in a tailspin. The loss was their fifth in a row and 10th in the past 11 games. They have two five-game losing skids sandwiched between a win in Clayton Kershaw’s return from the disabled list. They still have an 11 1/2-lead in the National League West.

Though they’ve been beaten up by the Diamondbacks, who clinched the season series by winning for the 10th time in 18 games with only Thursday’s finale remaining, the Dodgers say they have no trepidation over a possible National League Division Series matchup.

Cody Bellinger #35 of the Los Angeles Dodgers is tagged out stealing second base by Ketel Marte #4 of the Arizona Diamondbacks during the seventh inning of a game at Dodger Stadium on September 5, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

J.D. Martinez #28 is congratulated by Torey Lovullo #17 after scoring on an RBI double by Daniel Descalso #3 of the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fourth inning of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on September 5, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Yasmani Grandal #9 of the Los Angeles Dodgers rounds second base after hitting a solo homerun during the fifth inning of a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium on September 5, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Zack Greinke #21 of the Arizona Diamondbacks looks on after allowing a solo homerun to Yasmani Grandal #9 of the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning of a game at Dodger Stadium on September 5, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Archie Bradley #25 of the Arizona Diamondbacks pitches during the ninth inning of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on September 5, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Los Angeles Dodgers' Yasmani Grandal, left, is congratulated by manager Dave Roberts, center, and coach Bob Green after hitting a solo home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, in Los Angeles. Mark J. Terrill/AP

Los Angeles Dodgers' Yasmani Grandal, right, is congratulated by third base coach Chris Woodward after hitting a solo home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, in Los Angeles. Mark J. Terrill/AP

Los Angeles Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu, of South Korea, watches a pitch during the second inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, in Los Angeles. Mark J. Terrill/AP

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu, of South Korea, throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, in Los Angeles. Mark J. Terrill/AP

Arizona Diamondbacks' J.D. Martinez, left, runs to first as he hits a solo home run while Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Josh Fields watches during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Monday, Sept. 4, 2017, in Los Angeles. This was his third home run of the game. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Mark J. Terrill, AP

Arizona Diamondbacks' Brandon Drury is congratulated by teammates after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Monday, Sept. 4, 2017, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Mark J. Terrill, AP

Arizona Diamondbacks' J.D. Martinez, right, gestures as he scores after hitting a solo home run as Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes stands at the plate during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Monday, Sept. 4, 2017, in Los Angeles. This was his second home run of the game. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Mark J. Terrill, AP

Arizona Diamondbacks' J.D. Martinez is congratulated by teammates after hitting a two-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Monday, Sept. 4, 2017, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Mark J. Terrill, AP

Walker threw five scoreless innings against the Rockies on Friday at Coors Field. He’s allowed just one run in 16 2/3 innings with five walks and 17 strikeouts in his past three starts. … He hasn’t seen the Dodgers since April, when he faced them in back-to-back starts, allowing a combined five runs in 10 2/3 innings. … Maeda was hammered for seven runs in three innings against the Diamondbacks last week at Chase Field. He had logged a 2.44 ERA in eight starts prior to that. … He’s held right-handed hitters to a .223 average and a .668 OPS (on-base-plus-slugging). Lefties are at .248 and .734, respectively. … 3B Jake Lamb is 9 for 24 (.375) with two homers off Maeda.